Padding member for garment hangers



May 6, 1947. v SAMANN I 2,420,101

PADDING MEMBER FOR GARMENT HANGERS Filed Oct. 27, 1944 Patented May 6, 1947 PADDING IWEMBER FOR GARlVIENT HANGERS Eric L. Samann, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Application October 27, 1944, Serial No. 560,550

Claims. i

This invention relates to garment hangers and has for its principal object to provide a new and improved construction, what may be termed a padding member, for use with a conventional type of wire coat hanger.

Wire coat hangers consisting of a single piece of metal Wire of approximately of an inch in diameter and bent into proper configuration to form supports for the shoulders of a coat between which a strand of the wire extends to form a horizontal bar-like member over which trousers may be draped and supported and with a hook portion for suspending the hanger from a closet hook or a clothes bar have been manufactured extensively for many years. These wire coat hangers are subject to several objections, among which may be noted that, as for economy of manufacture, they are made of comparatively thin material, they do not give proper suppgrt to the shoulders of a coat and, what is even more objectionable, they do not have suflicient material adjacent to the hook portion of the hanger to provide a suitable surface area upon which the collar of the coat may be draped. Another objection to the wire hangers is that due to the comparatively flimsy material of which they are constructed, they are too readily distortable out of their proper or intended shape. As these wire coat hangers are very extensively used by laundries, dry cleaning establishments and bushelmen for delivering pressed or cleaned garments to the customer and as no charge is made for the hanger upon which the garment is delivered, it is essential that the cost of such hangers be kept to a minimum. Many difierent forms of paper or cardboard padding members are frequently employed in combination with such wire coat hangers to overcome or offset the objectionable feature above noted that are inherent in these wire coat hangers, but such padding members have not as far as I am aware been satisfactory nor have they materially overcome such objectionable features.

The present invention as above noted has for its principal object to provide a new and. improved padding member, especially designed for use with a conventional wire coat hanger and which padding member is so constructed as to be sufficiently strong and durable to withstand much repeated use.

Another object is to provide a padding member of the character set forth which has incorporated in its construction comparatively rigid bracing members which serve not only to impart rigidity to the padding member but which also serve as means for detachably securing the padding member to the wire coat hanger and also brace the latter.

A further object is to provide a padding member of the character set forth which will have widened and properly contoured supporting surfaces for the shoulders of a coat so as to maintain such shoulders in proper condition after the pressing of the garment.

Another object is to provide the padding member with a collar supporting section of suflicient area and proper contour to support the collar of the coat and maintain it in proper condition.

A further object is to incorporate in a padding member of the type described means for overcoming tendency of the garment to slip off the hanger.

Another object is to provide a new and improved construction of a padding member of the character set forth which can be manufactured at a very low cost, which can be readily secured to, or detached from, a conventional wire coat hanger which will be sturdy in construction, yet attractive in appearance which will be provided with properly contoured garment supporting surfaces such as are ordinarily found only in the more expensive metal or wooden coat hangers and which will ive great longevity of service and, therefore, will be capable of repeated use, and which may be readily constructed of any suitable material such as wood or paper pulp, plastic or the like capable of being molded to the desired shape.

The above and other objects of the present invention will appear more fully from the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a garment hanger embodying the principles of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation;

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are sections on the lines 4-4, 55 and 56 respectively of Fig. 1.

As shown in the drawings, the numeral H] indicates generally a conventional Wire coat hanger which is constructed of a single strand of wire bent to provide the hook portion II, the two inclined shoulder supporting portions 12 and I3 which are connected by the trouser or skirt han ing bar portion I l and the collar supporting portion or portions l5.

In accordance with the present invention, I

through which the hook portion I I of the hanger I may be passed to mount the padding member I6 upon the wire coat hanger I0. The portion 58- merges with the smaller U or channel-shaped sections 20, which extend downwardly at anangle and terminate at their lower ends into the outwardly flaring or widened shoulder supporting ends 2| Secured within, or integrally formed'with, the narrower U-shaped portion '20 is a bracing block 22 having a slot or kerf 23 formed therein and a substantially cylindrical recess or hole 26 in which is adapted to be seated a. portion of the wire of the hanger which forms the inclined shoulder portions I2 or I3 thereof, as shown more clearly in Fig. 4. Located at a point adjacent to the lowermost widened shoulder supporting end 2| of the hanger is a second bracing block of material 2'5.which may be either formed integrally with the sheet I! or suitably secured thereto. The block 25 is provided with a slot or kerf 26 similar to the slot 23 and also has a cylindrical hole or recess 21 in which the shoulder supporting strand I2 of the wire coat hanger is adapted to be received.

That portion of the padding member I which lies between the blocks 22 and 25 is preferably formed to provide a depression or recess '28 for the reception of a pad 29 of any suitable textile material, which will provide a frictional surface of comparatively large area that will tend to prevent garments placed upon the hangers from accidently slipping and falling off of the hanger.

The manner in which the deviceis' used, as will be readily understood, is as follows: The hook portion II of the wire coat hanger of the type illustrated is inserted through the slot I9 of a padding member, and the inclined shoulder supporting portions I2 and I3 thereof are pushed into the slots 23 and 2B of the blocks 22 and 25 respectively. As will be readily understood from an inspection of the drawings, the kerf or slots 23, 26 extend a sufficient distance into their respective blocks to permit the material of the block to be sprung readily to permit the wire strands I2, I3 to pass inwardly of the slots and to be engaged within the cylindrical recesses 24, 21;. The material of which the blocks 22 and 25 are constructed has sufficient inherent stability and rigidity to cause it to spring inwardly upon the strand I 2 and to hold the padding member securely locked in engagement with the wire coat hanger ID.

In addition to serving as means for fastening the padding member I6 securely to'the wire coat hanger. the blocks 22 and 25 serve to brace the sheet of material I I and to maintain it in the proper contour during repeated use thereof. As will be noted from an inspection of Fig. 5, the recess 28, in which the pad of material 29 is seated, is bounded on each side by a pair of raised ribs 30, 3 I, which as they extend from the block 22 to the block 25 tend to cooperate with said blocks to give both lateral and longitudinal stability to the hanger. Likewise the formation of the collar supporting portion I8 has a relatively long U or channel-shaped configuration which imparts marked stability to the central portion of the hanger. The clamping engagement of the blocks 22 and 25 at spaced points upon the strand I2 of the wire hanger also tends to brace very materially the wire coat hanger and prevent distortion thereof.

As hereinbefore pointed out, the padding member I6 is so designed that it may be constructed of any inexpensive material capable of being molded, pressed or otherwise formed into the desired configuration. As already indicated, the blocks 22, 25 may be formed integrally with the formed sheet-like portions I'I, if, for example, the device is constructed of plastic material or such blocks may be made separately and rigidly secured in their proper position by any suitable adhesive.

While I have shown a satisfactory constructional example of a padding member capable of being used most efiiciently with a conventional wire coat hanger, it will be understood that many changes, variations and modifications of the constructional details may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the claims hereunto appended.

I claim:

1. A substantially rigid padding member adapted for use in combination with a wire coat hanger having a hook portion and a pair of inclined shoulder supporting strands, said padding member having a central channel-shaped collar conforming portion provided with a slot through which the hook portion of said wire hanger is adapted to be passed, inclined shoulder supporting portions of channel shape extending from said collar portion tapering outwardly and downwardly therefrom and terminating in widened channel-shaped shoulder conforming and supporting sections, and means associated with saidinclined portions of said padding member for securely engaging and gripping the inclined shoulder supporting strands 'of said wire coat hanger, said means including a pair of spaced substantially rigid blocks located between the collar and shoulder supporting portions of said padding member.

2. A substantially rigid padding member adapted for use in combination with a wire coat hanger having a hook portion and a pair of inclined shoulder supporting strands, said padding member having a central channel-shaped collar conforming portion provided with a slot through which the hook portion of said wire hanger is adapted to be passed,- inclined shoulder supporting portions of channel shape extending from said collar portion tapering outwardly and downwardly therefrom and terminating in widened channel-shaped shoulder conforming and supporting sections, and means associated with said inclined portions of said padding member for securely engaging and gripping the inclined shoulder supporting strands of said wire coat hanger, said means including a pair of spaced substantially rigid blocks located between the collar andshoulder supporting portions ofsaid: padding member, each of saidblocks being provided with a kerf or slot having a cylindrical recess formed intermediate the ends of said slots in which said inclined strands are adapted to be seated.

3. A substantially rigid padding member adapted for use in combination with a wire coat hanger having a hook portion and a pair of inclined shoulder supporting strands, said padding member having a central channel-shaped collar conforming portion provided with a slot through which the hook portion of said wire hanger is adapted to be passed, inclined shoulder supporting portions of channel shape extending from said collar portion tapering outwardly and downwardly therefrom and terminating in widened channel-shaped shoulder conforming and supporting sections, and means associated with said inclined portions of said padding member for securely engaging and gripping the inclined shoulder supporting strands of said wire coat hanger, said means including a pair of spaced substantially rigid blocks located between the collar and shoulder supporting portions of said padding member, said padding member having formed therein a longitudinal recess extending between said pair of spaced blocks.

4. A substantially ri id padding member adapted for use in combination with a wire coat hanger having a hook portion and a pair of inclined shoulder supporting strands, said padding member having a central channel-shaped collar conforming portion provided with a slot through which the hook portion of said wire hanger is adapted to be passed, inclined shoulder supporting portions of channel shape extending from said collar portion tapering outwardly and downwardly therefrom and terminating in widened channel-shaped shoulder conforming and supporting sections, and means associated with said inclined portions of said padding member for securely engaging and gripping the inclined shoulder supporting strands of said wire coat hanger, said means including a pair of spaced substantially rigid blocks located between the collar and shoulder supporting portions of said padding member, said padding member having formed therein a longitudinal recess and a pair of strengthening ribs one on each side of said recess and extending between said spaced blocks and cooperating with said blocks to impart longitudinal and lateral stability to the shoulder supporting portions of said padding member.

5. A substantially rigid padding member adapted for use in combination with a wire coat hanger having a hook portion and a pair of inclined shoulder supporting strands, said padding member having a central channel-shaped collar conforming portion provided with a slot through which the hook portion of said wire hanger is adapted to be passed, inclined shoulder supporting portions of channel shape extending from said collar portion tapering outwardly and downwardly therefrom and terminating in widened channel-shaped shoulder conforming and supporting sections, and means associated with said inclined portions of said padding member for securely engaging and gripping the inclined shoulder supporting strands of said wire coat hanger, said means including a pair of spaced substantially rigid blocks located between the collar and shoulder supporting portions of said padding member, said padding member having formed therein a longitudinal recess extending between said pair of spaced blocks and frictional means carried by said recess for engaging a garment to prevent slippage thereof from said coat hanger.

6. A substantially inflexible member for use in combination with a wire coat hanger, comprising a collar conforming portion having means for engaging said wire portion adjacent to the hook thereof, said member also being provided with shoulder conforming portions, and solid means rigidly carried by said shoulder conforming portions for tightly embracing said wire hanger whereby said hanger and member cooperate to mutually brace and prevent distortion of each other.

'7. A substantially inflexible member adapted for use in combination with a wire coat hanger having a hook portion and a pair of inclined shoulder supporting strands, said member having a slotted channel-shaped collar conforming portion provided with a slot through which the hook portion of said wire hanger is adapted to be passed, inclined shoulder supporting portions of channel shape extending from said collar portion and terminating in widened channel-shaped shoulder conforming and supporting sections, and solid means associated with said inclined portions of said member for tightly embracing and gripping the inclined shoulder supporting strands of said wire coat hanger.

8. The combination with a wire coat hanger of a substantially inflexible padding member therefor having collar and shoulder conforming portions and means rigidly carried by said padding member tightly embracing said coat hanger at spaced points whereby said padding member and hanger mutually cooperate to impart stability and prevent distortion of each other.

9. The combination with a Wire coat hanger of a substantially inflexible padding member having collar and shoulder conforming portions of relatively large area rigidly supporting members for imparting lateral stability to said padding member and said padding member being provided with solid means for tightly embracing said wire hanger at a plurality of spaced points whereby said padding member and hanger mutually cooperate to impart stability and prevent distortion of each other.

3.0. The combination with a wire coat hanger of a substantially inflexible padding member formed of a sheet of suitable material having a generally channel-shaped configuration with widened collar and shoulder supporting portions and solid means carried within the channelshaped portions of said padding member tightly embracing said wire hanger at a plurality of spaced points whereby said padding member and said wire hanger mutually cooperate to impart stability and prevent distortion of each other.

ERIC L. SAMANN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the flle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,062,566 Fletcher et al Dec. 1, 1936 1,910,901 Koplow May 23, 1933 2,137,824 Radar Nov. 22, 1938 2,107,003 Johnson Feb. 1, 1938 

